Redirecting The Auto Industry

There were numerous clever advertisements for the North American Rabbit (Golf) beginning in 1975, a ground-breaking repackaging of the Beetle. This 1979 advert pointedly chides Chrysler's Omni/Horizon attempt to cash in on the original. Purists may want to ignore the new 1979 "Schwinn" side markers and the US-trendy square headlamps.

Soviet Aspirations

Foretelling the future of the robot vacuum is Whirlpool's Miracle Kitchen of the Future, a display at the American National Exhibition, held during the summer of 1959 in Moscow. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev engaged in the so-called “kitchen debate.” It was an exhibition of American art, fashion, cars, capitalism, and model homes. Kodachrome photo by Bob Lerner for the Look magazine article "What the Russians Will See." Read the report at Cold War.

Raymond Loewy Again

Though International Harvester was steeped in truck manufacturing, the industrial designer Raymond Loewy was commissioned in 1935 to revitalize their image. The result was the clever "head-on tractor view" logo representing the company's farming heritage. The black represents the tires while the red is the tractor body with the square block over the eye likely the spring-tensioned seat. 

A career overview of  Loewy.

Action-filled Compositions

Peter Helck (1893-1988) was an American illustrator who specialized in depicting the racing circuits of Europe. He estimated that he had produced more than 600 sketches, drawings and paintings during his career. He was there in the early days of auto racing with the Vanderbilt Cup Race of 1906. He worked for many of the major automobile magazines, in particular The Autocar, which took him to England and to major races in France and Italy. In the 1930s Helck was commissioned by the Sinclair Oil Company to produce a large-format road map. This map did much to build Sinclair's reputation and to promote driving for pleasure.

His compositions became more well-known, he also successfully pursued a path in commercial work, becoming an acknowledged expert in the portrayal of industrial subjects and machinery. Among others, his advertising work included Packard, TWA, Caterpillar Tractor, Sinclair Oil, GE, Mack Trucks, Alcoa, and Republic Steel. Perhaps his most famous US series was with the Chevrolet truck division of General Motors in the 1950s. His work made him a first-rate salesman, too. The details of these paintings placed the viewer within the scene and suggested Chevrolet was apparently the only truck manufactured. One source of his realism was that he painted on location, not from photographs. Though he obviously combined various subjects for a completed utopian painting.

The P-51 of Pens

The Parker Pen Company was an American-British manufacturer of luxury pens, founded in 1888 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin. Parker received a patent on his "Lucky Curve" fountain pen feed in 1894. The company's first successful pen was the 1899 Parker Jointless. The Lucky Curve feed was used in various forms until 1928. Like other products of the World War II generation, the Parker "51" was associated with the North American Mustang P-51. The company's headquarters moved to England in 1986. As of 2011, headquarters were again moved to France. Check out Parker's brief history here.

Arrow Collar Man

Knocking back some caffeine makes for a raucous 1949 tailgate party in a Linesman Arrow shirt. Back in 1825, Hannah Lord Montague of Troy, New York invented the detachable collar. An attachment that kept a shirt looking fresh and crisp without daily laundering. The collars were made famous by J.C. Leyendecker's "Arrow Collar Man" illustrations found Arrow Shirts.

Texas Corn Chips

Fritos brand corn chips was created in 1932 by Charles E. Doolin of San Antonio, Texas. Due to improvements in technology, production of Fritos corn chips increased from ten pounds to 100 pounds by 1933. With the company's move to Dallas in 1937, it opened a research and development lab and introduced new products. After Doolin's death in 1959, The Frito Company produced over forty products, had plants in eighteen cities, employed over 3,000 people, and had sales in 1958 in excess of $50 million. In 1965, The Frito Company and H.W. Lay & Company joined to become Frito-Lay, Inc., which in turn merged with PepsiCo, Inc. Frito-Lay created new snack foods like its most popular, Doritos, in 1966, Funyuns in 1969, and Munchos in 1971. More on the complete Fritos history here.

The Atlantic Highway

U.S. Route 1 is a major north-south national highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. Originally called the Quebec–Miami International Highway in 1911, it was renamed the Atlantic Highway in 1915. When the New England road marking system was established in 1922, the Atlantic Highway within New England was designated as Route 1. If you have ever traveled sections of Route 1 you may be interested in its detailed, and quite confusing, history.

Note: The 1940 photograph by Jack Delano shows Baltimore-Washington Boulevard, U.S. Highway Route 1 in  Baltimore, Maryland. 

Television's Leon Friedman

Lee Philips (Leon Friedman 1927-1999) was an American actor, and film and television director. The New York City-born Philips acting career started on Broadway, which led to a starring role in the film adaptation of Peyton Place. The handsome actor possessed versatility and intensity in his roles. His most visible presence was in television, guest starring in numerous popular shows from the early Fifties through the Seventies. His credits include The Fugitive, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, and I Spy, among many others. He guest-starred in a few series that he would also direct at some point. His twelve appearances as the title character in 1959's The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen were his most lengthy. 

By the early to mid-Sixties, his career included directing, with a wide range of television credits including Peyton Place, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Room 222, and The Waltons to name a few. As a director, Philips and Dick Van Dyke worked together numerous times beginning with The Dick Van Dyke Show, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, and Diagnosis Murder. By far his longest tenure as director was his sixty episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. In between he directed several television movies throughout the Seventies and Eighties.

Almost Made It

In 1892, 24-year-old Frank G. Lenz, a gallant, prideful and stubborn young accountant set forth to circle the globe alone (bad idea) by bicycle. His only fears were surviving China---he escaped a deadly stoning---and Turkey. The naive Lenz likely murdered near Erzurum, Turkey (Ottoman Empire) before the end of his tour in London. The photo above is likely the last one taken. A bit more background at wheelman. Check out the globe-circling cyclist who set out to investigate Lenz' demise at Sachtleben. His trip was so delayed, few clues remained.

That's Either Roy or Ray

At left is Roy Roberts (1906-1975) beside Ray Teal (1902-1976). Each actor might cross over because of the character roles, anything from a crooked judge to kindly banker. They started their careers one year apart and died one year apart. Both did many Westerns on film and television. Roberts became one of the most recognized actors in television in a number of comedy series as a banker, railroad president, or governor in such popular series as The Lucy Show, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres. Teal, on the other hand, rarely ventured into comedic roles, staying primarily in Westerns, whether in film or television. Over a dozen times he played a sheriff. His most visible role is Sheriff Roy (not Ray) Coffee on Bonanza.